When it comes to car headlight technology, halogen bulbs have long been the industry standard, commonly used by automakers in most vehicles due to their low cost and simplicity. However, as driving conditions and visual demands have evolved, many drivers are starting to feel frustrated with the weak, yellowish light output that halogens produce.
This has led many car owners to ask: Can I replace my original halogen headlight bulbs with LED ones?
The answer is a confident YES. Thanks to advancements in automotive lighting, LED headlight bulbs are now designed to be compatible with most factory halogen housings, offering a plug-and-play upgrade.
If you plan to convert your halogen to LED headlight bulbs, this blog will provide you a complete guide.
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What is Halogen Headlight Bulb?
A halogen bulb is a type of incandescent bulb that contains a tungsten filament enclosed in a small quartz capsule filled with halogen gas, such as iodine or bromine. When an electric current is applied to the filament, it heats up and emits light.
When the driver turns on the headlights, electricity flows from the car’s battery to the headlight bulb. The electricity heats up the tungsten filament inside the bulb, causing it to emit light. The halogen gas inside the bulb helps to improve the bulb’s efficiency by recycling evaporated tungsten back onto the filament, reducing the rate at which the filament burns out.
What is LED Headlight Bulb?
LED bulbs in a car work by converting electrical energy into light. LED stands for “Light Emitting Diode,” which is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it.
When you turn on your car’s headlights, an electrical current flows through a circuit that powers the LED bulbs. The current flows through a small chip inside the LED bulb called a diode. As the current flows through the diode, it excites electrons in the material, causing them to release energy in the form of photons, which are packets of light.
Is It Worth Converting Halogen With LED Bulb in Car Headlight?
The answer is YES. Converting your vehicle’s OEM halogen headlight bulbs to LEDs is possible and worth it.
However, you should also know the pros and cons after changing your halogen bulb to LED headlights.
Pros of Coverting to LED Headlight Bulb
- Upgraded Visibility
- Longer Lifespan
- Consume Less Energy Than Halogen
- 6500K Attractive Look
- No Time to Heat Up
Cons of Coverting to LED Headlight Bulb
- Inferior LED headlight bulbs often cause glare light
- The Heat Sink Often Gets Hot
- More Expensive Than Halogen
Can You Replace Halogen with LEDs in Car Headlights?
When replacing halogen with LED bulb in you car, you may be confused about several problems. Can halogen bulb directly replaced by LED bulb in car headlights? Do I need to make any modifications to my car to install LED bulbs? Will LED bulbs produce blinding light? Now we will explain from the following three aspects:
1.Optical
Replacing halogen with LED bulbs in your car means you will install LED car light bulbs in either projector or reflector headlight assembly.
To enhance illumination, a projector headlamp employs a lens in front of the light source to concentrate the light and produce a more precise and focused beam. Additionally, their convex lens protrudes, making them visually appealing even when they are not turned on during the day.
A reflector headlight is a type of headlight that uses a curved reflector to reflect the light emitted by the bulb. The reflector is designed to focus the light in a specific direction, creating a beam pattern that illuminates the road ahead.
The halogen bulbs will deliver a safe light beam pattern no matter in projector or reflector headlight assembly. The light source won’t blind pedestrians and oncoming traffic.
CONCERNS:
Reflector and projector housings are more sensitive to changes in light source design because they rely on the precise reflection of light off the mirrored surface. If the LED bulb’s light-emitting position doesn’t closely match that of the original halogen filament, it can cause scattered light, glare for other drivers, or dark spots on the road.
SOLUTION:
That’s to say, if the LED headlight bulbs you choose have the same lighting position as halogen filament, then the better light beam pattern as halogen bulbs.
2. Structure
When switching from halogen to LED bulbs in a headlamp, it is important to make sure the LED car bulbs can be fix to stock halogen housing easily. Whether automotive LED headlight bulbs can be installed on the original halogen headlight assembly is dependent on their structure to some extent.
CONCERNS
Size And Shape: Halogen bulbs usually have a standard size and shape that fits snugly into most headlight housings. However, there is no official standard size and shape for LED car headlight bulbs on the market. As a result, LED headlight bulbs on the market come in a variety of shapes, and some are designed to be too large or too long to fit in the assembly.
Heat Dissipation: High-power LED car bulbs generate lots of heat to some extent, so they require different cooling mechanisms. This can lead to larger or more complex bulb designs that may not fit easily into the housing.
SOLUTION
The good news is, with the latest LED headlight bulb technology, most LED car light bulbs are plug-n-play simple installation. A good example is NAOEVO SMART LED bulb. Truly 1:1 halogen design with 45-degree obliquid heat sink, simple installtion leaving enough room to cover the dust cover.
3. Compatibility
Converting your halogen headlight bulbs to LED maybe will encounter compatibility issue such as the lamp not lighting up, the lamp flickering, or the dashboard displaying a warning.
CONCERNS
Voltage: Another reason why installing an LED bulb into a halogen housing can be difficult is due to compatibility issues between the two types of lights. Halogens operate at 12V and with a power of 55W, when the vehicle is in operation, the power supply is typically between 13-13.5V. According to the regulations, the automotive LED bulbs must be able to operate normally between 9-16 Volts.
SOLUTION
Nowadays, many LED headlight bulbs on the market are designed to operate within a wide voltage range, typically from 9 to 16 volts. This wide compatibility ensures that they can be safely used in about 98% of vehicles. Some 24V LED headlights are especially designed for trucks and SUVs.
CONCERNS
Canbus Errors: If your vehicle’s lighting is not meeting the expected wattage, the Canbus system will detect it and flag it as a fault, leading to an error message being triggered.
SOLUTION
The good news is most aftermarket LED headlight bulbs carry with intelligent Canbus driver. Some even come with linear decoding technology, which means that LED headlight bulbs can solve most of the Canbus error issues without the need of Canbus driver.
Best LED Headlight Bulbs For Halogen Upgrade
NAOEVO NR Series LED Headlight Bulb
If you are looking for quality LED headlight bulb that is close to halogen standard, but much brighter than halogen, we will highly recommend NAOEVO’s NR series LED headlight bulbs. With unique rocket design, these brand new NAOEVO NR LED headlight bulbs are designed to produce standard light beam as halogen while also enhancing brightness.
1:1 Design As Halogen
As we mentioned above, LED headlight bulb that has the same lighting position as halogen will ensure that the light beam pattern remains consistent with the original design of the vehicle. The the lamp bead is too front or too back, it can cause issues such as poor visibility, glare, and blinding other drivers on the road.
In this case, the NR LED headlight bulbs are designed as small as possible so that they can remain a mini size as halogen and the same lighting points of halogen bulbs. Thanks to 1.5 mm ultra-slim copper substrate inside the bulb, there is a narrow space between two lamp beads, which can greatly simulate the thin tungsten insides halogen lamp.
The result is, either in projector or reflector headlight assembly, the NR LED headlight bulbs will deliver a sharp cutoff line with a wide and even spread light beam pattern. This prevents glare and ensures that the light is focused on the road ahead.
4X Brighter in Projector And Reflector
90% of people choose to replace with LED bulb in car headlight due to the insufficient light of halogen. With a high power of 110W 13200LM per set, the NR LED headlight bulbs provide 4 times upgraded brightness than halogen bulbs. Its 6500K white light is not only aesthetically pleasing but also enhances safety by making it easier for drivers to see obstacles on the road.
Stylish Rocket Design
What set NR LED headlight bulb apart from others is their unique rocket design. As you can see from the lamp, there is a stylish flying rocket on the lamp body, which stands for a strong explosive force. NR LED bulb is granted this tremendous power in its mini body. It delivers excellent brightness and illuminates the dark road instantly.
High Compatibility
With NR LED bulb, you will never worry about the error problems when you decide to convert halogen to LED in your car. The NR LED headlight bulbs are built with intelligent Canbus driver, which will greatly simulate the current of halogen bulbs, making them installed into the headlight without any error problems. The mini design also provides a super easy way for installation.
FAQs
Q1: Is It Legal To Replace Halogen With LED Bulbs To Your Car?
In most cases, it is legal to replace halogen bulbs with LED bulbs in your car.
However, it is important to make sure that the LED bulbs meet the required specifications for your vehicle and are approved for use on public roads. Different states have different regulations for car lighting, it is better to check before you buying LED bulbs.
Q2: Do I need to modify my car's wiring or housing to install LED bulbs?
A: In most cases, no modifications are necessary. However, it is important to ensure that the LED bulb is compatible with your car’s wiring and housing before installation.
Q3: Are there any potential drawbacks to switching to LED bulbs?
A: One potential drawback is that some LED bulbs may not be compatible with your car’s headlight housing, which could lead to reduced visibility or glare for other drivers on the road. Additionally, LED headlights may be more expensive to purchase than halogen headlights.
Q4: How to replace halogen with LED headlight bulb?
Most LED headlight bulbs on the market are designed as plug-n-play solution. Here’s a step-by-step guide to replace halogen headlights with LED bulbs:
- Identify the type of LED headlight bulb
- Access the headlight assembly
- Open the dust cover and remover the halogen bulb
- Install the new LED headlight bulbs (3 o’clock and 9 o’clock align)
- Connect the wiring harness
- Test the light beam pattern of the new LED car light bulb
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